Picking up the pace: Lions-Colts promises a big Week 1 snap load

The road to fantasy fortune is built upon bricks of opportunity, and those bricks are made up of snaps. While we can navigate a trail to the Promised Land over bumpy terrain, a snaps-filled path is far smoother. The more opportunities we can reliably expect — be it pass attempts, targets or touches — the sturdier our projections become.

As in years past, we will attempt to forecast which games will, or will not, be chock-full of snaps, and provide a jumping-off point for player selection in both DFS and season-long formats. While there will be intriguing options playing in low-volume matchups — Spencer Ware this week, for instance — we’ll want more exposure to players involved in snap-filled games.

Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts

This matchup promises to fill the air with footballs and the stat sheet with snaps. The Colts’ running game was a mess this preseason (fourth-lowest rushing grade), albeit with Frank Gore only playing 10 snaps. The Lions’ front-seven allowed a league-best 3.5 yards per carry when in their sub-defense last year, and with Indianapolis a base-3WR offense, Detroit will be in “sub” most of the game. The Lions’ rushing attack is a work in progress and their 34.7-percent run rate ranked 32nd last year.